West Bengal govt says 125 RSS-run schools 'stopped' for operating without NOC, not following syllabus

West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Wednesday that the state government has identified and "stopped" 125 schools, allegedly affiliated to the RSS, which are functioning without a No Objection Certificate (NOC), according to ANI.

He added that some of them were not in accordance with the syllabus. "We are scrutinising other schools too. Only then we will take any decision," Partha Chatterjee was quoted by the ANI.

Addressing the issue of crackdown on schools run by the saffron organisation, Chatterjee added that madrasas were not under his "jurisdiction".

Madrasas are not under my jurisdiction. Some have also been taken into examination for recognition. I do not know the exact position. School will run according to the syllabus. They should not follow any kind of religion: Partha Chatterjee, West Bengal Minister. pic.twitter.com/5TwGUyNUqa

Chatterjee had said in the state Assembly on Tuesday that the West Bengal government would take "proper measures" if the RSS-run schools were found imparting training to students with sticks in the disguise of educating them.

"We had secretly collected information and found that around 125 schools, mostly situated in North Bengal, have not taken any NOC from us (education department) but are running these schools on their own. We have told them they cannot do so," Chatterjee said.

He said that those schools moved court with political backing and are now allowed to function without the state education department's NOC.

"We are fighting against them and if needed, we will move the Supreme Court," he said.

Chatterjee said schools are not meant for honing skills with sticks.

Chatterjee told the Assembly that the department, besides, these 125 schools, were keeping an eye on 493 others.

"People can run schools. But in the disguise of giving education they cannot combine radical blind religionism with it. If it comes to our notice, we will definitely look into it and take proper action against them," he said.

The Trinamool Congress government drew flak from the BJP in state. “This government is shameless. They don’t know that we went to the high court against their decision and the court has already imposed a stay order,” Biswapriya Roychowdhury, the West Bengal BJP vice-president, was quoted as saying by The Week. According to the report, she added that the party would move court seeking contempt notice against the state government.”